It is known that four Trioza species attack avocado foliage, with Trioza anceps Tuthill (commonly called the avocado psyllid) being a widespread pest in Mexico and Central America. Both nymphs and adults feed on young leaf sap, but the nymphs induce avocado leaf galls by injecting a toxin during feeding, triggering tissue hyperplasia and hypertrophy. This leads to severe leaf deformations, stunted tree growth, and overall decline in plant health 1. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the efficacy of nanomaterials synthesized via the sol-gel method for the control of T. anceps. The treatments included silicon oxide, silicon oxide with pine bark extract, silicon oxide with pine resin, and silicon oxide with both pine bark extract and pine resin. The nanomaterials were characterized prior to laboratory testing. Among them, the SiO2-pine resin formulation proved to be the most effective, achieving 100% mortality of T. anceps nymphs by day 7 and belonging to the highest statistical efficacy group (group a) according to Tukey’s HSD test (p < 0.05). in 2. Material characterization confirmed physicochemical properties enhancing phytoprotective effects, positioning silica-based nanomaterials as sustainable alternatives in modern agriculture 3, 4.
Cinto-Alarcon et al. (2026) studied this question.